


Visiting Hours

by cdreaiton



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-06 23:14:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8773222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cdreaiton/pseuds/cdreaiton
Summary: Short little drabbles about how the team handles each member being laid up in the hospital for a few days.





	1. Steve

**Author's Note:**

> I'm obsessed with thr Avengers being a happy family. This is a direct result of that. ^_^

Steve, by nature of having the serum running through him, is rarely hurt so badly during a fight that he needs hospitalization. But one time, when one of the enemies they'd been fighting manages to put a spear through his stomach, Steve winds up staying in the hospital for almost a week while he recovers.

At home, Steve is an extremely quiet and reserved person, tending to leave any parties early, heading to his room when someone is watching a loud movie. So the team decides that having all of them go and visit him at the same time, probably isn't the best idea, and make a schedule for when each person is going to visit him, making sure to include plenty of alone time for the Captain. Tony visits him first.

"Hey there, Cap. How are you feeling today?" he asks when he enters the private hospital room.

"A bit better. Doesn't hurt as much when I breathe," Steve responds with a half-hearted attempt at a smile. He'd refused pain meds as, with his metabolism, they wear of within thirty minutes anyway, and they make him groggy and fuzzy, even if it's only for a brief amount of time.

"Good to hear. I brought my chess board. You up for a game?"

"Sure."

They play for several hours, with Tony winning less often than he anticipated, before Tony can tell that the strain of sitting up is becoming too much for the Captain. He packs up the chess board once their last game is finished, and sets it to the side of the bed, promising to visit again and play some more.

Natasha visits him next, a few hours later, and brings him the entire Chronicles of Narnia series to read. She figures it's a good choice, as it has an engaging story without necessarily being books for children. They read in silence for quite a while, then Natasha, uncharacteristically, gives him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving him to sleep for the night.

When Thor visits the next morning, he doesn't bring anything with him, but opts instead for telling the Captain all about the ways earth culture is different from Asgardian culture. He regales the Captain with the story about the time he had thrown a diner coffee mug on the floor and broken it when he'd wanted more to drink. And how that had apparently _not_ been the appropriate way to ask for more. Steve shares a few stories of his own about the culture shock he had been in when he first awoke from the ice. Including the first time he'd made a comment to one of the agents about how weird it was seeing so many women in pants, and how she had slapped him for it. He'd ended up having to ask Fury what he'd said wrong, and how that in and of itself was one of the strangest conversations he'd ever had.

Bruce visits around lunch, bringing him take out from a local Chinese place Steve fancies. Steve isn't really sure what to talk about with Bruce, as he was trying to replicate the serum when he'd had the accident that had made him the Hulk. But Banner seems more than content to work on his tablet in silence, and Steve continues reading the books Natasha had brought him the day before. The visit is shorter than the others, but that suits Steve just fine.

When Clint shows up the next day, he has several old movies with him, ones he's hoping Steve will enjoy, and an enormous bowl of popcorn. They watch The Sting, To Catch a Thief, Rio Bravo, and Clue. Steve finds he enjoys all of them, for different reasons as they are all very different movies. Clint, as observant as ever, notices that Steve is struggling to stay awake during the last movie, and pats Steve's arm encouragingly when he leaves.

"We're all here for you, Steve. Don't forget that," Clint says as he walks out the door.

Over the next few days, the team keeps up the same routine, and if Steve notices, he doesn't say a word.


	2. Natasha

It's a stupid mistake. A rookie mistake. Natasha, who is nowhere near being a rookie, is hit by an explosion when she failed to check a door on a Hydra base before opening it. JARVIS had assured them the building was safe, but as she lies in the hospital bed in the Tower's medical wing, she chastises herself for not checking anyway.

Clint is naturally the first to visit her, and she's surprised to see Bruce along with him. They sit and talk with her for several hours, avoiding the topic of what happened to her, and even refusing to acknowledge that she's spoken when she brings it up herself.

It's a pleasant talk, and by the time Clint and Bruce leave she finds herself feeling better, at least mentally. Knowing that they don't blame her, or think less of her for getting hurt is meaningful to her in ways she can't even begin to express.

Steve visits her next, bringing with him a book. And although she's read Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' many times, it's different now because Steve insists on reading it to her. She lays in the semi-comfort of her hospital bed and listens to the Captain's soothing baritone read aloud the passages that have become so familiar. Her body is weary from it's ordeal, and she drifts in and out of consciousness, but Steve reads on. When she wakes some time later, she sees that Steve is still sitting in his chair, though he's reading his own book now, keeping a silent watch over her. Before the team was formed and she became a member, she would have reacted... unfavorably to having someone watch her sleep. It's a vulnerable position and she despises being vulnerable. But Steve is her friend, and she knows and trusts him to keep her safe.

Thor show up near the evening, and Natasha realizes that her team members are tagging each other out, making sure to keep someone in the room with her at all times. For a brief moment, she wonders what reason they would have to keep an eye on her. She's not a danger to herself, and in her current condition, she sincerely doubts she could slice bread, let alone a person. Then her mind comes to a screeching halt as she figures is out. They're staying with her _because_ she can't defend herself. So they are doing it for her. Her heart warms the tiniest bit, and she settles back against the extra pillows Clint had brought her to listen to Thor's stories.

He only tells a few of them before the drugs they've given her kick in and she drifts off to sleep, but when she awakes during the night, he is still there, sitting silently next to her bed, one eye on the door and the other keeping watch over her. Disorientation tries to take her mind, put her into fight or flight mode, but a gentle, calming hand on her arm remind her that she is safe, and she falls back to sleep.

Tony, surprisingly, takes a turn with her in the morning, the gauntlets from his suit sitting by his side should defending her become necessary. Once he's seated, he turns to her.

"I'm sorry about what happened. JARVIS cleared the building, but he missed an energy signature he should have noticed. I've recalibrated him, so it won't happen again. Can you..." he clears his throat uncharacteristically before continuing, "Forgive me?"

She stares at him blankly for a second, trying to figure out what he's done wrong this time that would make him seek forgiveness. Then she smiles, which does nothing to calm her teammates nerves.

"Tony, it wasn't your fault. Or even JARVIS's. I should have checked the door, and I didn't," seeing that Tony is unconvinced, she sighs softly and puts a hand on his, "I won't forgive you because there's nothing to forgive. But, I will tell you this, and I'll deny it if you ever repeat it," she takes a deep breath, then continues quietly, eyes meeting his, "I feel ten times safer having you and JARVIS at my back. And the way I see it, when things like this happen, it adds to the growing number of things JARVIS knows to look for, and makes one less way our enemies can hurt people."

Tony smiles at her and nods slightly in acknowledgement of her comment, then pulls out a deck of cards and challenges her to a game of poker. She wins every time.


	3. Bruce

When Bruce is injured, for the first time since the team is formed, it's when a lab experiment blows up in his face. Unsurprisingly, all of the doctors and nurses the Tower keeps on staff are wary of the Dr. Banner, as they are all convinced he is only a needle prick away from large, green, and destructive. Everyone, including the team, is surprised that the Other Guy didn't make an appearance when the experiment went off, but Bruce chocks it up to him not being in any real danger, and the Other Guy somehow understanding that. But they keep him in the hospital wing for a few days anyway, just to be safe.

Tony is the first to visit, and he brings his tablet and talks to Bruce about all of his new schemes for his suits, pointing out the flaws he's found on his various test runs, and how he plans on compensating for them. Bruce thoroughly enjoys the conversation, as Tony is one of his best friends, and listening to the man talk about his new ideas has always been one of Bruce's favorite things to do. He's never met someone with as much passion about science as he himself has, and Tony does. They speak the same language, and Tony isn't the least bit afraid of him like so many others are.

It startles Bruce a bit when, shortly after Tony leaves, Clint and Natasha knock on his door. He had expected Tony, but he had assumed the rest of the team would keep their distance, as the Other Guy is a protective sort, and extremely unpredictable. But they enter his room anyway, seemingly uncaring of the potential danger. They take seats on either side of his bed and regale him with tales from their spy days. Some of the ops they tell him about Bruce is fairly certain are above his clearance level, but they don't seem to care, so he doesn't worry about it. Too much. Tasha give his arm a meaningful squeeze when they leave to let him sleep, and he lets the small amount of drugs he's consented to take do their work.

Steve brings him the book he'd been reading, and they sit in a comfortable silence, each reading their own tome. Bruce lets his mind be carried away by How to Kill a Mockingbird, enjoying Steve's company. The entire visit reminds him of how often the two of them simply sit in the large living room at the mansion passing away the evening in this exact manor, and it comforts him to know that some things never change.

Thor visits shortly after Steve, and brings Tony's chess set with him. Bruce hadn't even known the Asgardian knew the game, and is pleased with the challenge the big man presents.

"Does his presence still upset you?" Thor asks suddenly as he takes one of Bruce's knights.

Bruce is startled by the question for a moment, but recovers quickly.

"I don't think I'll ever be okay with it. He's dangerous. I'm dangerous. Just the small amount of control I _do_ have is a small miracle," Bruce comments, moving his queen.

"Perhaps," Thor says, pursing his lips as though trying to think of the best way to word what he wants to say, "It is not so much the miracle you believe. You have not harmed an innocent in many months. And your control grows each day. That is no miracle, my friend. You have become stronger. You are no longer some mindless beast, as you think. Your control grows by the day, but it is no miracle. It is you. You have changed, and the Other with you. You have become a warrior. One I am honored to fight beside, as both comrade, and friend.''

Bruce smiles and flushes slightly at Thor's words, touched by the sentiment. With a slight chuckle, he knocks over his king, signaling Thor's win.

"Thank you, Thor. Truly."

Tony insists on throwing a party, once Bruce is cleared to leave the hospital wing, to celebrate their friend's return to health.


	4. Tony

Tony, is perhaps one of the worst patients the team has ever seen. He's mad at himself for not dodging the blast that had smacked into him and blown his suit nearly apart, causing him to crash land into a building, breaking his arm and damaging his reactor. The broken arm is in a cast, but it's the reactor that causes him to spend well over a week in the hospital wing. He always has a spare one, just incase of catastrophe, and it's been inserted, but the doctors want to keep him for observation and make sure there's no lasting damage that will cause problems down the road.

So Tony gripes and complains about having to stay to anyone who will listen. After less than an hour, all of the nurses are fed up with him, and the team arrives to make things a little easier. They bring a large flat screen TV down from one of Tony's rooms at the top of the Tower, several decks of cards, and a multitude of board games. They even bring a tall table that can be placed over Tony's bed so he can reach what they are doing.

They spend the entire first day watching movies. While Tony normally insists on watching the most intense of action movies, after his accident he doesn't feel like being reminded of how he messed up. So, surprisingly, they watch Disney and Pixar movies, and the team finds they enjoy them more than they were anticipating. They work their way through some of the classics: Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. Then move on to some of the newer ones: Tangled, Frozen, Finding Nemo, Cars, and The Incredibles.

When it's been dark for several hours, and Tony is starting to nod off, they power off the TV. Bruce and Steve set up beds for themselves, with Bruce taking the provided couch and Steve in the arm chair, and the rest of the team leaves to return home, promising to come back the next morning.

The night passes without much incident, though Steve has to wake Tony from a nightmare just before dawn, and sits holding his friend in his arms until the shaking passes. The rest of the team arrives shortly there after, which suits Tony just fine as he's never able to sleep after a nightmare and he's embarrassed about holding on to Steve. 

They watch Toy Story while they eat breakfast, which Natasha has brought from Tony's favorite cafe down the street, and Tony consumes a truly impressive amount of coffee. Then they pull out the board games and play several for the rest of the day. They hook up all of the expansions for Settlers of Catan; play Clue several times; think about playing Cards Against Humanity, but opt for Apples to Apples instead as they don't want to drive Steve from the room, and Thor wouldn't understand any of the humor anyway; and they even play Betrayal at the House on the Hill, with tony ending up as the bad guy, much to everyone's amusement.

Tony has more nightmares that night, and Steve sits up, holding his hand, waking him when necessary, and making sure Tony knows he's not alone.

There are luckily no calls to action while Tony is laid up, as the team might not have responded, not wanting to leave their injured teammate alone. Tony knows what they're doing, as he has been a part of the conversation about what to do about some of the others when they've been hospitalized, but he appreciates them all being there. They are his family, the only one he's ever really had, and their presence is a comfort.

When he is finally released from the hospital and cleared to return home, he makes each of them a card and puts it where they will see. But none of them mention it. Simply give him a smile and a nod and continue on with what they were doing.


	5. Thor

"Are you sure you don't need to return to Asgard?" Bruce asks for the fifth or sixth time that day, "They know your biology better than we do. You'd probably heal faster."

"I will heal fine here," Thor assures the doctor, settling back against his pillows, "Besides, it is better that I am here as it would worry my mother and my people to see me in such a state."

There is a large chunk of flesh missing from Thor's leg from where he'd been hit by a strange weapon the newest invaders had been carrying. But having Thor injured has everyone on the team a bit freaked out. Thor's people are practically immortal, and even when he went mano a mano with the Hulk, Thor had barely gotten a scratch.

"Alright, if you're sure," Bruce tentatively agrees, though he makes a mental note to keep a close eye on the wound and contact Asgard immediately if it starts getting any worse.

Thor barely fits in the hospital bed, as he's so tall, and struggles to get comfortable. Natasha brings him several extra pillows when the team comes to visit. They bring books and movies to show him, teaching him all about the earth culture that confuses him so much. He explains how things are different from what they are used to, and Tony ends up setting up a compare and contrast board for the two worlds.

"You know," Tony says when the board starts showing a pattern, "Our worlds aren't really all that different. Sure, we have different customs, and there's the whole nearly indestructible bit, but all in all, the differences are only on the surface. We're a lot alike in all the ways that really matter."

"So we are, my friend. And that has proved to be what keeps this team together. Our similarities might be small in number, but they out weigh our differences none the less," Thor agrees.

The rest of Thor's short stay in the hospital is spent playing more games and watching more movies, showing Thor all about the ways the people of earth enjoy their time. And before they know it, Thor is back to his old self and going on missions with them.


	6. Clint

Clint is nearly as bad of a patient as Tony was. He hates feeling vulnerable, and insists he's better and ready to go home long before the doctors agree with him. He actually tries to escape once before the team puts a guard on him, much as they had with Tasha but for different reasons.

Natasha brings several books and reads to him from the Harry Potter books he has a secret love for. She holds his hand in comfort as she reads, and he calms and finally relaxes enough to fall asleep.

Steve brings a large bag full of television series that Clint has commented about and he puts in the first disk of Firefly as soon as he puts the bag down. Clint gives a running commentary about the show, including all his behind the scenes knowledge and the reasonings behind several of the scenes and why they played out the way they did. Steve enjoys the time immensely, and Clint grudgingly admits he does as well.

Thor, who usually would take the time to talk about his warrior accomplishments, instead asks Clint about his. Clint obliges and tells Thor about some of his missions before he and Natasha became a team. He talks about the first time he was sent on an assassination assignment, how difficult it had been to wrap his head around the idea that killing someone would make the world safer. 

Then he talks about Loki, startling Thor. He talks about how he'd hated himself for the longest time because of the things the trickster had made him do, and how he had finally come to terms with everything. How the team had shown him that he was important and useful, and how meaningful it was to him that none of them had blamed him for what had happened. They just accepted him, scars and all.

Thor tells him of the way Loki had betrayed him and lied to him when he had come to earth the first time, and about how painful that had been. How much of a shock it was when he discovered that Loki was not truly his brother, and how he had wished it had not hurt Loki so to know he was not a true son of Odin.

Bruce, when he visits, is a startlingly talkative companion. He brings his tablet and shows Clint all of the things he's working on.

"You know, doc," Clint says after an hour of seeing Bruce's experiments, "I don't understand hardly anything you're saying."

"You understand more than you want people to think you do," he counters with a knowing smile, "You like people to underestimate you, so you play the fool more often than not. I know that you don't understand everything I'm saying, but you get the jist of it, and I like sharing my projects with you."

Clint doesn't argue with Bruce's assessment of his personality, as it's true that he hides his intelligent mind from the world, preferring to be thought of as nothing but dumb muscle. But he's secretly glad his team can see past the facade.

Tony brings several two player video games and a PS4 when he comes by, and they spend the entire day racing and trying to one up each other on Little Big Planet. It's an enjoyable day, all things considered, but Clint shows the strain of being in a place he hates.

The doctors and nurses are not the only ones pleased when Hawk is cleared to return home and recuperate.


End file.
